Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Sterling Witt – Satyagraha

You
can tell, after even one listen to this album, who Sterling Witt cut his teeth
on as a young musician turned on by rock and punk music. It certainly wasn’t
G.G. Alin and The Mentors. There’s a highly charged political and philosophical
edge to the thirteen songs on his latest release Satyagraha, but we always hear
the real individual behind these sentiments, so it never seems dogmatic or
preachy. If it were nothing else, this collection would surely be heartfelt.
Moreover, despite its intelligence, Witt never takes things so high brow that
he loses his audience. The melodies powering these songs immediately bring
listeners into their world and, once there, Witt and his band mates continue to
unleash one entertaining musical passage after another. This is as fully
realized of a musical effort as you are likely to hear this year and certainly
gives lie to the idea that rock music is somehow a passé art form. If it is,
Sterling Witt never got the memo.

Thank
god he never did. Songs like “Perception Deception” are quite bright, but they
also have a storm the ramparts quality missing in both mainstream and the
remnants of the punk rock genre today. This isn’t Green Day punk – this is The
Clash at their best with a healthy dose of ass-kicking melodic lead guitar
thrown in for good measure. Few songs make this clearer than the album’s third
song, “Who Do You Listen To?” Such a difficult message and theme can often be
lost in the popular song form, but this track explores the band’s musical
talents quite well and gets its message over without any difficulty. “Spirtual
Revolution” is largely an instrumental number and it excels thanks to the
memorable riffing and melody alike that Witt unveils for his listeners. The
chemistry between the three band members is palpable, especially on song’s like
this where lyrics are jettisoned in favor of a much more strictly musical
performance.

“Make
It” and “Just So You Know” are likely the angriest full on songs found on
Satyagraha, but Witt never forgoes his art just for the sake of mindlessly
indulging his rage. Instead, these are forcefully played and worded fusillades
of condemnation aimed at a modern world incapable of valuing reality or the
individual. Music like this clears away the bullshit and shows us one man’s
experience in startling clarity. “The Answer” changes the textures we’ve heard
so far – instead of blasting away on his guitar, Witt reins things in and shows
great subtlety from an album that, to this point, has trained us not to expect
such things. The shift in tone deepens the release as a whole. “I Love You More
Everyday” is the album’s most commercial number, thanks to its irrepressible
melody, but there’s humor here as well beside Witt’s typically intelligent
lyrics./ The details, in particular, make it a strong narrative that
complements the music well. Satyagraha engages listeners intellectually and
physically without ever placing importance on one facet above all others. This
sort of balance is hard to achieve and obviously the product of a superior
talent.

About Me

Student at University of Oregon. Persuing a degree in Jornalism and Marketing. Writing Intern for Indie Music Media LLC based out of Seattle, WA. I enjoy writing music reviews that are informative, honest and positive.